Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
No doubt you’ve seen some images from the earthquake and tsunami like these here from the NY Times/AP. The devastation in Japan is horrific, as is the state of affairs, the deaths, missing people, damaged lives and immeasurable property damage. Unthinkable sadness.
The photos too are extremely powerful. In kind, in their quietness, in scale. In short, they are completely surreal. The ability for a photograph to tell a story in a single moment is undeniable. This is journalism, but were it not for a natural disaster, the subject matter of the images reads like a fine art of destruction.
The world’s head and heart are with you Japan. More shocking and surreal images captured by AP reporters in Japan after the jump.
Kyodo News, via Associated Press
Kyodo/Reuters
Kyodo News, via Reuters
Kyodo News, via Associated Press
To see a dozen more of these images, visit the Asia Pacific photo gallery here at the NY Times.
[Images from AP and NYTimes via the respected agencies cited below each image. Post inspired by Rachel’s over at A Photography Blog. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to Japan tsunami relief or click here.]
I’m having a hard time justifying the juxtaposition of “horrific” and “fine art” being next to each other in the same sentence. Certainly, without a doubt there is something about these photos that makes you look (we’ve all been gawking at them–with Reuters getting most of the “money” shots).
But to say that they are fine art really removes the humanity from them. With thousands dead, hundreds of thousands without homes or electricity, and radiation fallout just starting to waft into the scene, I don’t think we are close to the worst of it. I have friends in Japan who are living the worst post-apocalyptic reality right now; actually living it.
To write, “were it not for a natural disaster, the subject matter of the images reads like a fine art of destruction,” may just go too far.
I personally do not see this as fine art.
But that’s just my opinion.
Respect the opinion. My impression from your statement was that it bordered on overanalyzing. It’s not like Chase was dehumanizing the events unfolding in Japan, or commercializing it for that matter. He’s just talking about it from the perspective of a photographer and visual artist. It’s just a different perspective. If photography is art, and these moments are why photography exists, then these images are the purest form: a visual communication of a feeling, idea, or concept, and the documentation for historical purposes.
I’m with you.
This is real. What we are seeing in those photos is death.
It could be your family. It’s powerful b/c it’s real.
You probably wouldn’t call this “Art” if your loved ones or whatever you built were in it.
Many families are not united yet. Some b/c they are in those photos.
Fair statement, Jake. Didn’t mean to cross wires. I said this below, but missed your comment…
my goal, so you know, is trying to suggest an elevated dignity to these images as something more than journalism…an amazing care put into the image to capture something so moving as to illicit compassion and understanding….along the lines as what jon said below… “The power of an image is to facilitate understanding… to rescale an event into something that anyone can grasp and feel…”
didn’t mean to cross wires with your sentiment. just processing this internally myself as well… thanks for your comment.
Fair statement, Jake. Didn’t mean to cross wires. I said this below, but missed your comment…
my goal, so you know, is trying to suggest an elevated dignity to these images as something more than journalism…an amazing care put into the image to capture something so moving as to illicit compassion and understanding….along the lines as what jon said below… “The power of an image is to facilitate understanding… to rescale an event into something that anyone can grasp and feel…”
didn’t mean to cross wires with your sentiment. just processing this internally myself as well… thanks for your comment.
Thanks for keeping this on our minds Chase. I was one of the six that met you last week at Vincent’s workshop, and I wanted to let you know what I know… I was in Sendai 1 week before the workshop, right at the epicenter. I work for a studio that produces children’s books and animations/ video doing music and sound for audio books and DVDs (all from my studio in Vancouver).
The studio that I work for was almost completely spared (there was some significant damage of one building), all the people are safe, and the 2 ESL schools affiliated with the studio were also spared.
It’s surreal seeing places I just was in that are now destroyed, I couldn’t be more thankful that I just missed it, but feel so helpless worrying about friends and their families.
Anyhow, just wanted to post some stories of hope amidst the destruction.
This is a horrible catastrophe to the people of Japan.
Images like these have a profound ability, if you let them, to draw you in and humanize the events as they unfold. The danger is, if you allow it, is to let it become just another interesting photo that you saw. From over here we can only let our imaginations try to come to grips with the level of devastation and tragedy that people are (and will continue) to endure.
cannot argue the power of a photo….
Well said Chase. Photos have a way of conveying the message when words can’t.
Well said, Darryl. It’s difficult for me to grock what the aftermath of this kind of destruction would be like. It’s time like these which make me hope that prayer actually works, I just don’t even know where to begin.
a helping hand helps more than a million hands clasped in prayer
Too bad what’s going on there, don’t know what to say about it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it’s not going to get any worse…